sir, all right," he called, seeing the car; and donning a
great raincoat, he came out to open the gates.

"Well, well, sir," he said, as Mr. Farrington leaned out to speak with
him, "this is a night, sure enough! Mr. Warner, sir, he gave up looking
for you at midnight."

"I don't wonder," said Mr. Farrington, "and now, my man, can you ring
your people up, and is there anybody to take care of the car?"

"Yes, sir, yes, sir," said the porter, "just you drive on up to the
house, and I'll go back to the lodge and ring up the chauffeur, and as
soon as he can get around he'll take care of your car. I'll ring up the
housekeeper too, but she's a slow old body, and you'd best sound your
horn all the way up the drive."

Roger acted on this advice and The Fact went tooting up the driveway, and
finally came to a standstill at the front entrance of Pine Branches.

They were under a _porte-cochere_, and as soon as they stopped, Elise
jumped out, and began a vigorous onslaught on the doorbell. Roger kept
the horn sounding, and after a few moments the door was opened by a
somewhat sleepy-looking butler. As they entered, Mr. Warner, whose
appearance gave evidence of a hasty toilet, came flying down the
staircase, three steps at a time.

"Well, well, my friends," he exclaimed, "I'm glad to see you, I am
overjoyed to see you! We were expecting you just at this particular
minute, and I am so glad that you arrived on time. How do you do, Mrs.
Farrington? And Elise, my dear child, how you've grown since I saw you
last! This is Patty Fairfield, is it? How do you do, Patty? I am very
glad to see you. Roger, my boy, you look exhausted. Has your car been
cutting up jinks?"

As Mr. Warner talked, he bustled around shaking hands with his guests,
assisting them out of their wraps, and disposing of them in comfortable
chairs.

Meantime the rest of the family appeared.

Bertha Warner, a merry-looking girl of about Patty's age, came flying
downstairs, pinning her collar as she ran.

"How jolly of you," she cried, "to come in the middle of the night! Such
fun! I'm so glad to see you, Elise; and this is Patty Fairfield? Patty, I
think you're lovely."

The impulsive Bertha kissed Patty on both cheeks, and then turned to make
way for her mother.

Mrs. Warner was as merry and as hearty in her welcome as the others. She
acted as if it were an ordinary occurrence to be wakened from sleep at
two o'clock in the morning, to greet newly arrived gu